Education Technology


NUMB3RS - Season 3 - "Waste Not" - Different or Not?

Activity Overview

In the episode, the FBI discovers that children in the area of a sinkhole seem to have an unusually high occurrence of cancer. FBI agent Megan Reeves believes that this might represent a "cancer cluster," but Charlie warns her not to jump to this conclusion too quickly.
Students will use a statistical technique called a two-proportion test to determine whether or not the number of cancer cases is unusually high.

Before the Activity

Download the attached PDF and look over the Teacher Page.

During the Activity

Discuss the materials from the Student Page with your class.

After the Activity

Encourage students to explore web sites and questions from the Extensions Page.